SeaWaves Today in History October 27, 2008
United States of America – Navy Day. Visiting warships Dress Ship with Masthead Flags
1728 - James Cook c1728-1779 naval captain, navigator, explorer, was born on this day or Oct. 28 at Marton-in-Cleveland, Yorkshire, England in about 1728; killed at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii Feb. 14, 1779. Cook was the first to map the Newfoundland coast and Grand Banks, first to map Canada's West Coast in any depth, and was killed shortly after his discovery of the Sandwich Islands
1795 - United States and Spain signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo (also known as Pinckney's Treaty), which provided for free navigation of the Mississippi River
1864 - LT William Cushing, USN, sinks Confederate ram Albemarle with a spar torpedo attached to the bow of his launch
1874 - Launching of William D. Lawrence at Maitland; largest wooden ship ever built in Atlantic Canada
1893 - Battleship FS Jauréguiberry launched
1913 - Battleship USS Pennsylvania laid down
1917 - Lt. George Heaven Morang, RNAS, of Toronto, ON, was lost in action over the Western Front while flying a Sopwith ‘Camel’ fighter (#N6371) with Royal Naval Air Service 10 Squadron. Lt. Morang joined the RNAS in February 1917 and had been with his squadron for only three weeks at the time of his death
1918 - Destroyer USS Maddox launched
1920 - Submarine USS S-23 launched
1920 - Destroyers USS Hulbert & Pope commissioned
1922 - Navy League of US sponsors first annual celebration of Navy Day to focus public attention on the importance of the US Navy. That date was selected because it was Theodore Roosevelt's birthday
1923 - Submarine USS S-44 launched
1926 - Heavy cruiser USS Pensacola laid down
1927 - Destroyer FS Trombe commissioned
1928 - Robert Hayward 1928-1961 speedboat racer, was born on this day in 1928; killed in a race on the Detroit River Sept. 10, 1961. Hayward started as a mechanic for the Miss Supertest hydroplane crew in 1957; 1959 won the Harmsworth Trophy in Miss Supertest at a speed of 107.5 miles per hour, breaking a thirty year domination by US boats; successfully defended the title in 1960 and 1961
1932 - Sloop HMS Falmouth commissioned
1933 - Submarine USS Porpoise laid down
1933 - Submarine HMS Starfish commissioned
1933 - Soviet submarine SC-103 commissioned
1934 - Destroyers USS Smith & Preston laid down
1934 - Destroyer USS Worden launched
1936 - Destroyer USS Preston commissioned
1936 - Submarine USS Sturgeon laid down
1937 - Destroyer USS Jarvis commissioned
1937 - Destroyer HMS Khartoum laid down
1937 - Battleship USS North Carolina laid down
1937 - Submarine USS Swordfish laid down
1938 - Destroyer HMS Jupiter launched
1938 - Destroyer USS Sterett launched
1939 - Corvette HMS Aubretia laid down
1939 - AMC HMS Arawa commissioned
1939 - U-31 laid a very successful field of 18 mines in Loch Ewe. This minefield later accounted for two ships sunk and one damaged
1939 - U-34 sinks SS Bronte in Convoy OB-25
1941 – The Canadian ‘C’ Force, comprised of two infantry battalions totaling 1,975 men, departed from Vancouver, BC, for Hong Kong to reinforce the garrison. The Canadian troops were embarked in the fast New Zealand passenger liner (turned troopship) Awatea (13,500 GRT). Awatea was advertised in 1936, the year of her launching, as “the fastest ship in the Antipodes.” She was escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMCS Prince Robert, a converted Canadian National Steamships passenger ship, Cdr. F.G. Hart RCN CO. The decision to deploy, and potentially to evacuate, C Force was dictated entirely by the availability of military sealift provided and controlled by the British War Office. The sailing date was fixed by British authorities and could not be altered to accommodate Canadian requirements. The training and logistical support provisions for C Force were dictated by factors entirely outside of either Canadian naval or military control. Unit and individual training was far from complete when the ships sailed. Because the troopship was overcrowded, 109 members of the Royal Rifles of Canada were transported in Prince Robert. The conversion of Prince Robert to an armed merchant cruiser eliminated her cargo holds as an alternate for the large volume of materiel that could not be embarked in Awatea. C Force’s total cargo space requirements totaled 195,000 cubic feet: 125,000 for motor transport and 70,000 for other stores. Awatea had only 45,000 cubic feet of freight capacity. A priority list of transport vehicles was selected for loading. The vehicles were embarked on four rail cars and rushed to Vancouver, but did not arrive until 28 October, by which time the troopship had sailed with two cargo holds practically empty. The Philippine 8½-knot freighter Don José (10,900 GRT) was contracted to carry C Force’s 212 vehicles and departed Vancouver on 04 Nov. A shipment of automotive spare parts was loaded in the Norwegian 14-knot freighter Fernplant (5,300 GRT) on 22 Nov. Prince Robert and Awatea sailed across the North Pacific at a brisk 20 knots, stopping at Honolulu and Manila for fuel, which Prince Robert also did on the return trip. Don José was routed by American authorities via the Torres Strait and Molucca Passage to Manila, instead of direct to Shanghai and then Hong Kong before proceeding to Manila, as originally intended. Prince Robert and Awatea, escorted by the light cruiser HMS Danae, arrived in Hong Kong on 16 Nov. Fernplant discharged her cargo in Los Angeles on 10 December, several days after the commencement of hostilities, and it was eventually returned to Canada. Don José arrived in Manila on 12 Dec and disembarked C Force’s vehicles for use by the US Army. All of these vehicles were either captured or destroyed by the Japanese. Canadian Chief of the General Staff, General Kenneth Stuart testified at the Duff Commission of Inquiry into the disaster at Hong Kong that “[t]he shortage of shipping, particularly ships equipped to carry personnel, had been a problem since the beginning of the war and had become more of a problem as each month passes.” Stuart claimed that “there was no alternative but to accept the course we did,” which was “to proceed as directed in the cable received from the United Kingdom.” It seems no questions were directed at the RCN during the inquiry over the wisdom of converting the three Prince-class liners into auxiliary cruisers when a national requirement for troopships existed from the first days of the war and was becoming a critical problem of strategic proportions
1941 - Escort carrier USS Card laid down
1941 - Minesweeper USS Pilot laid down
1941 - Submarine USS Grouper launched
1941 - Monitor HMS Roberts commissioned
1941 - Corvette HMCS Shawinigan arrived Halifax from builder Quebec City PQ
1941 - Submarine HMS Tetrarch lost to Italian mines in Strait of Sicily off Capo Granditola, Sicily
1942 - U-436 damaged SS Frontenac, Gurney E Newlin & sank HMS LCT-2281, SS Sourabaya in Convoy HX-212
1942 - U-509 sank SS Pacific Star & SS Stentor in Convoy SL-125
1942 - U-604 sank SS Anglo Mærsk (already torpedoed the previous day) in Convoy SL-125
1942 - After an explosion during torpedo loading on U-67 one man was killed. [Matrosenobergefreiter Heinz Hartmann]
1942 - The same day 3 men were washed overboard from the U-706, 2 men died but the third was saved by U-463. [Leutnant zur See Erich Eichmann, see right, Matrosenobergefreiter Ralf Köhler]
1942 - U-627 sunk south of Iceland, in position 59.14N, 22.49W, by depth charges from a British Fortress aircraft (Sqn 206/F). 44 dead (all hands lost)
1942 - U-1161 laid down
1942 - U-117 laid some mines off Iceland, but no sinkings resulted from this field
1942 - The submerged U-339 collided in the Baltic Sea with the cruiser Nürnberg
1942 - Submarine USS Tautog sinks a transport-cargo ship at 10-20 N, 108-43 E
1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Milltown arrived Halifax from builder Port Arthur ON
1942 - Submarines HMS Spirit, Vivid & Voracious laid down
1942 - Minesweepers USS Triumph & Logic laid down
1942 - Destroyer USS Stephen Potter laid down
1942 - Destroyer USS Aulick commissioned
1942 - Minesweeper USS Strive commissioned
1942 - Destroyers USS Bush & Spence launched
1942 - Submarines USS Lapon & Balao launched
1942 - Minesweeper HMS Onyx launched
1942 - Minesweeper USS Caravan launched
1942 - XII Squadriglia MAS removed from Lake Ladoga and transported to Tallinn via Helsinki
1943 - U-479 & U-1164 commissioned
1943 - U-1003 & U-1004 launched
1943 - U-218 laid 18 mines off the Port of Spain, but no sinkings resulted from this field
1943 - U-354 set a weather reporting team ashore on Hope Island
1943 - First women Marines report for duty on West Coast, Camp Pendleton
1943 - Minesweeper HMS Providence launched Toronto ON
1943 - Tug HMCS Glenmont launched Owen Sound ON
1943 - Corvette HMCS Prescott completed forecastle extension refit Liverpool NS
1943 - Destroyer USS Johnston commissioned
1943 - Destroyer escort USS Gillette commissioned
1943 - Submarines USS Pomfret & Sterlet launched
1943 - Destroyers USS Walke & Smalley launched
1943 - Destroyer escort USS Weeden launched
1943 - Frigates HMS Hargood & Holmes laid down
1943 - Destroyer escort USS Martin H Ray laid down
1943 - Aircraft carrier USS Midway laid down at Newport News
1943 - Submarine USS Shad sinks a transport and a passenger-cargo ship at 28-20 N, 128-05 E (one shared with Grayback)
1943 - Submarine USS Flying Fish sinks a cargo ship at 10-59 N, 134-35 E
1944 - Fast Carrier Task Forces attack Japanese shipping and installations in Visayas and northern Luzon
1944 - Frigate HMCS Fort Erie commissioned
1944 - Destroyer USS Henderson laid down Seattle WA
1944 - Destroyer minelayer USS Tolman commissioned
1944 - Destroyer USS Duncan launched
1944 - U-1060 grounded in the North Sea south of Bronnoysund, in position 65.24N, 11.59,5E after damage by rockets & depth charges from Firefly and 2 Barracuda a/c of the carrier HMS Implacable, 2 RAF Handley Page Halifax a/c (Sqn 502/D/T) & 2 Czechoslovakian Liberator aircraft (Sqn 311/H/Y). 12 dead and 43 survivors. U-1060 shot down two RN Swordfish a/c during the action
1944 - U-3015 launched
1944 - U-2539 laid down
1944 - Admiral Sherman's task group of US TF 38 strikes Japanese shipping around Luzon, Philippine Islands. Strikes are also sent against Luzon Island. Battleship USS California is damaged by the Japanese
1944 - Submarine USS Burrfish sinks a cargo ship at 29-08 N, 128-45 E
1944 - Submarine USS Bergall sinks an armed tanker at 07-17 N, 116-45 E
1944 - FS-144 was commissioned. She was in the Southwest Pacific area on 26 June 1944. She operated in New Guinea. She was decommissioned 13 October 1945
1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-319 was commissioned at New York with LTJG Sterling M. Anderson, USCG, as her first commanding officer. She departed New York on 11 December 1944 for the Southwest Pacific where she operated at Finschhafen, Auguson, etc., during the war
1945 - Aircraft carrier USS Franklin D Roosevelt commissioned
1945 - Submarine USS Dogfish launched
1946 - Heavy cruiser USS Toledo commissioned
1956 - Minesweeper HMCS Thunder launched Port Arthur ON
1957 - RCN VS 881 Tracker a/c #1508 went over the side of aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure after failing to catch an arrestor wire. Pilot & crew recovered safely by helicopter piloted by Lt Larry Zbitnew
1964 - MV Charles A Dunning (ex-HMCS Sankaty) sank enroute to Sydney NS for scrapping
1964 - SS Magdeburg sank in the Thames Estuary with a shipment of 42 Leyland Olympic buses to Cuba. The East German ship, Magdeburg was involved in a collision with the Japanese freighter, Yamashiro Maru. The Magdeburg was eventually righted by filling her spaces with tennis balls, and 28 of the buses were recovered. Most were scrapped. One pair was rebodied by Van Hool in Belgium, and sold as left-hand drive coaches for use in England by Smiths of Wigan, registered CEK 587/8D. They were unique on British roads at that time because of that driving position, being primarily operated on the continent, but Alan Watkins did photograph the first one in Gloucester in about 1967/8. A third chassis became the basis for a car transporter, and at least one other was built for European owners a removals van. The ship was eventually sold, still with 14 buses in her hold, to a Greek salvage firm, but was lost during a storm in the Bay of Biscay
1967 - Operation Coronado VIII begins in Rung Sat Zone
1968 - SV Fantome, former fixture on Seattle's Portage Bay, sinks in Caribbean hurricane
1969 - USS Ranger port call Pearl Harbor
1970 - USS Ranger commenced Vietnam deployment with CVW-2
1972 - USS Saratoga port call Singapore
2003 - Destroyer USS Pinckney delivered
2004 - Old Glory, the 5-foot by 8-foot well-traveled American Flag is scheduled to fly over Warwick Neck Light to honor the service and sacrifice rendered by US Coast Guardsmen
2004 - At about 1815 local time, museum tug Elbe (905 grt, built 1959) was sinking in Schiedam in the vicinity of the Wartsila repair quay. When the police arrived on scene, the tug had already partly sunk and had also developed a list. Two SMIT harbor tugs, along with Rotterdam patrol vessels and two divers, tried to pump the vessel out but could not prevent it from sinking
2005 - A Chinese space-tracking ship bristling with satellite dishes is on a rare but low-key visit. The 21,000-tonne Yuan Wang II and its 470 crew are stocking up on supplies in Auckland after a month in the Pacific. The vessel was monitoring a five-day flight of the Shenzhou 6 capsule and its two astronauts. The Chinese consulate in Auckland was guarded yesterday about the purpose of the week-long visit of the Yuan Wang II, saying it was unable to confirm the ship's involvement in the space program. But the People's Daily online edition was clear about the involvement of the ship and three others of its class in tracking the space capsule, running into bad weather in all three oceans where they were posted
2005 - A 10-member Chinese Naval aviation delegation visits the Indian Southern Naval Command headquarters in Kochi. The delegation, headed by Rear Admiral Zhang Yongyi, Deputy Commander PLA (Navy), will first call on the Flag Officer Commanding-in-chief Southern Naval command. They would also visit INS Garuda and Naval Aircraft Yard here
2005 - Yarmouth Coastguard search for a person who may have fallen or jumped from a plane. Two children aged seven and thirteen reported that they heard a loud bang whilst on a ride at Skegness, then saw a person falling from a gray and white plane. The Coastguard immediately requested the Chapel St Leonards and Skegness Coastguard Rescue teams to begin making inquiries and conducting a shoreline search. The Skegness inshore and all weather RNLI lifeboats were requested to launch and a rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham was also requested to scramble. The police are conducting a search and liaising with the Lincolnshire Coastguard Sector Manager
2005 - Maersk Dunkerque, the first of three new passenger Roll On - Roll Off ferries, arrived in Dover last weekend from South Korea where she was built by Samsung Heavy Industries. The vessel will enter service on completion of operational trials. The new vessel is UK registered and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is pleased to welcome Maersk Dunkerque to the UK fleet. The 36,500 gross tonne vessel was built for Norfolk Line - part of the A P Moller / Maersk group - registered in the UK and will operate on the Dover to Dunkirk route. Construction of the vessel has been monitored by MCA surveyors from Orpington Marine Office throughout the thirty month project. Each vessel can carry 780 passengers, 200 cars and 120 freight vehicles and will have a British crew. The second and third vessels, Maersk Delft and Maersk Dover are due to commence service in January and July 2006 respect
2005 - The Indonesian Navy will continue to oppose the presence of outsiders, including the United States, in providing security in the Malacca Straits, Admiral Slamet Soebijanto has said. Soebijanto, who is chief of staff of the Indonesian navy, also said that Indonesia will stick to a joint patrol cooperation among the littoral countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore
2005 - The Indonesian Navy will proceed with its plan to purchase four Dutch corvettes (two Sigma Class I and two Sigma Class II type) worth US$1.9 billion, Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Slamet Soebijanto said
2005 - The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has approved one application under Section 9 of the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended. Western Overseas, Inc., (proposed owner) Toledo, OH, has received approval to sell the 44,906-gross-ton tanker Verseas New York to Snow Drop Company, Ltd., a British Virgin Islands corporation, and transfer said Vessel to Mongolian registry and flag, for scrapping in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan. The vessel was built in 1977 in San Diego, CA
2005 - A vessel reported to be the most powerful self-propelled and ocean-going cutter suction dredger in the world was christened in Dunkirk, France. The 38,000 hp d’Artagnan is named after a character in Alexandre Dumas’ novel “The Three Musketeers.” Together with d’Artagnan, two auxiliary vessels, Aramis and Buckingham were also christened at the same ceremony. The three vessels will sail under French colors and are owned and operated by Société de Dragage International (SDI), the French subsidiary of Belgian Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering (DEME) Group. The importance of the event was revealed in the christeners of the naming ceremony. For d’Artagnan Mrs. Ann De Smedt-Peeters, the spouse of the Flemish Minister for Public Works, Energy, the Environment and Nature, took the honor. The name of Buckingham was given by Mrs. Fabienne Ackermans, a direct descendant of the founders of Ackermans & van Haaren-Group and the spouse of Mr. Luc Bertrand, chairman of the Board of Directors at DEME. Aramis was christened by Mrs. Virginie Mennesson, the spouse of Mr. Renaud Bentégeat, CEO at general contractor Compagne d’Entreprises CFE. Both AvH and CFE are the shareholders of DEME. Development and construction of the three dredging vessels represent a record investment of € 106 million. The concept of d’Artagnan was developed by DEME’s in-house Newbuilding Division, together with IHC in the Netherlands, where the vessel was built. Aramis and Buckingham were built at Socarenam in Boulogne, France. The naming ceremony was attended by over 700 guests, including major clients of DEME from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Two prominent guests of honor were present: a representative of the mayor of Lupiac in Gascony, France, the village where d’Artagnan was born in 1611 and where the mayor, today lives in the original Chateau de Castelmore of the 17th century hero. Mr. de Montesquiou is the Chairman of the Directoire de Guyenne et Gascogne and is a descendant of d’Artagnan’s mother, Françoise de Montesquiou
2005 - Port authorities and Coast Guard units conduct marine emergency training in Valparaiso
2005 - The US Navy announced today that one of its nine Nimitz-class aircraft carriers will replace the USS Kitty Hawk as the forward deployed carrier in the Western Pacific, and will arrive in Yokosuka, Japan in 2008. The USS Kitty Hawk is nearing the end of its service life and will
return to the United States in 2008 to be decommissioned
2005 - The Military Sealift Command combat stores ship USNS Niagara Falls grounded while departing Malakal Harbor, Palau at 1300. There were no reported injuries or indication of leakage from the ship. Local tug boats will assist the ship in freeing itself. Additional information will be released as it becomes available
2005 - The oldest surviving Medal of Honor recipient in the United States was recently honored on the grounds of Liberty Station, San Diego's former Naval Training Center. The event was sponsored by The Corky McMillin Companies, the firm responsible for transforming the former naval base into a new mixed-use community along San Diego's waterfront. The project has been hailed as a national model for base reuse. The event honored 96-year-old Lieutenant John Finn, who besides being the oldest surviving Medal of Honor winner, was also the first one to receive his decoration for service in World War II. Three other Medal of Honor recipients were also present at the ceremony that dedicated an office complex to Finn and his wife Alice
2006 - Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, in Washington DC. During his visit he will meet President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and other Administration officials. The discussions will center on the ongoing operations (especially Afghanistan) and the NATO Summit in Riga (28/29 November 2006)
2006 - NCL Corporation announced Emmy® Award winner Rosie O’Donnell will serve as the godmother of its newest ship Norwegian Pearl. The popular talk show host and actress will christen NCL’s newest Freestyle Cruising vessel in a ceremony at the Port of Miami on Saturday, December 16 at 5 pm
2006 - VT Halmatic has delivered the first of its new 16 meter Cambric designed Pilot Boat to PD Ports Plc at Teesport
2007 - USNS Robert E Peary (T-AKE 5) launched at NASSCO San Diego. Due to the recent spate of major fires in area, christening ceremony postponed until early 2008
2007 - BC Ferries’ Coastal Renaissance, the first of three new Super C-class vessels departs Flensburg, Germany bound for its new home in British Columbia
2007 - RAN divers & Solomons police disposed of more than 400 World War II shells & bombs
Copyright 2008 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966
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